Two Masters Explored in Roman Show

Rome

The exhibition “Filippino Lippi and Sandro Botticelli in Florence in the 1400s,” showing at the Scuderie del Quirinale (Via XXIV Maggio 16; english.scuderiequirinale.it) through Jan. 15, follows the lives and works of those two painters, with particular emphasis on Lippi’s career, style and innovations. More than 40 of his works are juxtaposed with those of other masters, mainly Botticelli, whose supporting role in the exhibition serves to illuminate the character of the junior master.

The lives of the artists intersected in significant ways throughout the last quarter of the 15th century: Botticelli had been a student of Filippo Lippi, Filippino’s father, and when the elder died, his young son entered Botticelli’s workshop. Young Filippino excelled; a rivalry was born.

Among the works in the exhibition are the rarely exhibited “La Derellita,” a depiction of the biblical story of Mordecai lamenting the proposed extermination of the Jews. The panel comes from a wedding chest, a collaborative effort between Lippi and Botticelli. Another work, “Madonna Adoring the Infant Christ,” was painted when Lippi was in his early 20s. The use of oil combined with tempera creates a stunning chromatic effect.